The prior art has proposed various forms of normally open electrical switch assemblies; however, such have not been found to satisfy a great number of application requirements. For example, especially where relatively high electrical currents are to be experienced in the switch itself, any slow movement of one moveable electrical contact toward another will quickly result in deterioration of such electrical contacts because of electrical arcing which will take place between such contacts as they experience slow relative motion therebetween.
Attempts to, in turn, cause rapid motion of such moveable contacts as by the employment of manually actuated cam means have not proven to be satisfactory because, aside from the increased cost of such cams, the motion of the cam is still, in the main, directly dependent upon the rate of speed at which manual actuation is performed.
Other attempts at creating switch assemblies wherein a snap action is introduced into the movement of such moveable contacts have, to a functional degree, succeeded; however, such arrangements have usually required sensitive over-center type tripping mechanisms or other relatively complex and costly mechanisms. Further, in such prior art snap-acting switch assemblies it is usually impossible to attain such a snap-action movement when the total permissible travel of the related actuating member is very short.
Further, the prior art has failed to provide, in the same switch assembly, means for both affecting a snap-action switching function as well as additional switching functions not requiring a snap-action.
Accordingly, the invention as herein disclosed and described is primarily directed to the solution of the above as well as other related problems.